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Thruhiking

At the beginning of Week 10 we set out from the buzzing city of Oviedo to hike 350km on the Camino Primitivo. The Primitivo is pretty tough, but it was made tougher by the heat and humidity. It took a while to learn to share the trail with others again and also to like the Primitivo as a trail, but it had redeemed itself by the time we arrived in the great pilgrim city of Santiago.

The week got off to a difficult start with the shadow of Brexit looming over our thoughts and sapping our motivation. After a wild swim broke the spell, we focussed again and the GR1 treated us to a glorious traverse of the Picos Regional Park before ascending to it’s finale at the pass of Puerto de Tarna.

One of our favourite weeks on the GR1 so far, across stunning limestone landscapes awash with wildflowers. There was a palpable relief to be back on the trail again and far from the world in Spain’s rural depths. The trail and weather were trying at times, but we have returned with a renewed appreciation for the journey and freedom.

In Week 7 we left the broad horizons of Navarra behind, and climbed into the verdant, misty hills of the Basque country. The locals we met were convinced we had lost the Camino, but we were glad to be back on lonelier trails doing our own thing, as is our wildpilgrim way! There was lots of waiting for the rain to stop and plenty of time for tea- drinking and contemplating as we reflected on how the hiking-life deepens our sense of time and the value of unnoticed things.